Officials: Drivers are mostly responsible for uptick in traffic deaths

By Tyler White | twhite@mrt.com

Published 6:25 pm, Saturday, September 7, 2013

Photo: JAMES DURBIN

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Traffic on Big Spring at dusk May 14, 2013. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Traffic on Big Spring at dusk May 14, 2013. James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

Photo: JAMES DURBIN

Officials: Drivers are mostly responsible for uptick in traffic deaths

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The number of fatalities on roadways inside Midland County this year are on track to blow by last year’s numbers. As of Saturday, there have been 33 deaths in 30 crashes.

In 2012, there were a reported 34 fatalities in 23 crashes, according to statistics provided by the Texas Department of Transportation. Of those deaths, 19 fatalities in 13 crashes occurred on rural roads and 15 fatalities in 10 crashes occurred on urban roads.

Statewide, there were 3,399 deaths on Texas roadways in 2012, a 10.82 percent increase from 2011, with an estimated economic loss of $26 million for all motor vehicle crashes.

Ray Leible, lieutenant with Midland Police Department’s Special Operations Division, said 14 of the fatalities this year occurred within city limits, and of those, six involved alcohol or drugs.

Leible said increased traffic congestion, driver inattention and speed are the biggest issues he has seen on Midland city streets.

“The speed limit is not a suggestion,” he said. “Everyone’s in a hurry and not driving defensively.”

Gene Powell, Texas Department of Transportation public information officer, said the factors contributing to fatal crashes in Midland are not surprising.

He said many fatalities are preventable and the decisions drivers make behind the wheel impact the rates of serious to fatal crashes across the state.

Numerous drivers speed, text and engage in activities that take their attention away from driving, he said. And some studies suggest that hands-free devices can still contribute to wrecks, he said.

“We’ve found a lot of cellphones with half a text,” said Derek MacPherson, with the Midland Fire Department, said in reference to crash sites.

Meanwhile, alcohol contributed to six fatalities in six different crashes, or 26 percent of those crashes in Midland County in 2012. Alcohol contributed to 282 crashes overall in Midland County in 2012, 64 of which involved serious injuries, according to TxDOT statistics.

Drivers’ decisions behind the wheel contribute to crashes in other ways, too. MFD’s Jared Greer said drivers have caused secondary wrecks by not paying attention to their own driving. Powell said failure to yield the right of way has been the cause of numerous crashes in Midland County.

Powell also said many deaths could have been prevented by wearing seat belts.

“Seat belts are such an important safety device and we know that people in pickups in West Texas are below average in seat belt use.” he said.

In the county’s most recent fatal crash, a 21-year-old Midland woman died after being ejected from a pickup in a one-vehicle rollover crash on Loop 250. She was not wearing a seat belt.

Powell said if motorists would refrain from breaking these laws and keeping their attention on driving, 85 to 90 percent of fatal accidents would be prevented.

Because of Midland’s increase in traffic, motorists should consider alloting more time to get to their destination, and find alternate routes to school or work to avoid heavy traffic on major roads and highways, he said.

“We need them to drive defensively and not put themselves in harms way,” he said.

-- Squad members, along with officers in Midland Police Department’s Traffic Division and Crime Scene Investigation Unit, gather evidence, control the crash site’s perimeter and transport the bodies of the victims.

-- EMS personnel may use “jaws of life” to cut, move and pry open parts of a vehicle to retrieve victims.

-- Squad members wait at the crash site until a justice of the peace arrives.

Challenge of working a fatal crash:

-- After leaving the scene of a fatality, squad members have more time to mentally process all components of the crash site.

“Your adrenaline’s not going. You’ve had time to look at everything ... everything’s a lot slower-paced and that’s probably a lot harder for some guys,” Greer said.

-- Greer said he has become desensitized to the emotional responses that arise from seeing death on the roadways, but no one can say it doesn’t bother them in some way.

“You got to learn how to put your feelings aside from that. It’s something you kind of get used to.”

-- MacPherson said responding to a crash involving a child, can still bring about emotions in many EMS personnel. He said it helps that many of the squads develop close friendships and can talk about these problems among themselves.

-- If emergency personnel find themselves having difficulty in coping, they can consult with a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) Team, McPherson said.

This team, made up of firefighters and emergency personnel with specialized training in counseling, help personnel struggling with stressors that arise on the job.